British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said Thursday that the use of proxies by hostile states to carry out attacks inside the United Kingdom is a "growing concern and a real concern," visiting a north London synagogue that was firebombed last weekend.
Starmer met Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis and community members at Kenton United Synagogue in north-west London, one of several Jewish sites targeted in a series of arson attacks that began in late March. Targets have included two synagogues and a former Jewish charity. An Islamist group suspected of having Iranian links, Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia, has claimed responsibility for an attack on Jewish community ambulances and other incidents across the UK and Europe.
"It's very important in this particular context, because I'm increasingly concerned that a number of countries are using proxies for attacks in this country," Starmer told those gathered. He said the government would bring forward legislation "as quickly as possible" to proscribe Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The UK has yet to do so despite Labour having promised it before the 2024 general election. Several other European countries have already proscribed the organization, and groups such as Hezbollah have been banned in Britain.
Before the prime minister's arrival, Saul Taylor, president of the United Synagogue umbrella group, expressed frustration. "There's been so much that's been dragging," he said, calling on the government to act on proscription. "I don't know what they're waiting for." Taylor said some synagogues were spending as much as £20,000 a month on security guards, describing the financial burden as a "tax on being Jewish in Britain."
The chief rabbi, who said the community was filled with anxiety, told Starmer he had asked him to "guarantee the normalisation of antisemitism in the UK will stop, and that there will be zero tolerance." He also urged proscription of the IRGC and "all other terrorist organisations, whether state sponsored or not."
The government's independent reviewer of terror legislation said last year that new laws were needed specifically to tackle state-run organizations. The IRGC proscription, if passed, would represent a significant escalation in Britain's legal posture toward Iran.
